Puzzle postal card.



N. OLINGER,

PUZZLE POSTAL CARD.

APPLIGATION FILED 1330.17, 1908.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

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UNITED STATESEATENT OFFICE.

NELLIE OLINGER, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, PENNSYLVANIA.

PUZZLE POSTAL CARD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELLIE OLINGER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Mount Pleasant, in the county of \Vestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Puzzle Postal Cards, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to puzzle postal cards, and the object of my invention is to provide a novel puzzle card that can be used for correspondence, advertising, and souvenir purposes, the puzzle card affording considerable amusement and requiring considerable skill to place the same in position that the correspondence upon the card can be easily read. To this end, I provide a card consisting of practically five parts assembled to represent a suit case, one of the parts constituting a frame for holding a foldable card forming another part, while the remainder of the parts are employed for securing the card within the frame, whereby it cannot become accidentally detached or surreptitiously removed from the frame without detection. In the practice of my invention a card can be made of strong and durable fibrous paper, of leather or a similar material.

Reference will now be had to the drawing forming a part of this specification, wherein,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a puzzle card constructed in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view, illustrating the same partly open, Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View of a card taken on the line a250 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on the line yg of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the card illustrating a manner of opening the same.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 and 2 designate two cards having the upper edges thereof connected by a strap 3 provided with openings 4 adapted to register when the strap is folded to place the cards 1 and 2 in engagement with each other.

The cards 1 and 2 are oblong similar to ordinary postal cards and are adapted to fit in a frame 5, said frame being made of a single ply of paper corresponding in thickness to one of the cards.

The card 1 is slitted to provide keepers 6, and the frame 5 is slitted, as at 7 for a purpose that will presently appear, the slits 7 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 17, 1908.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

Serial No. 468,009.

and the keepers 6 being arranged adjacent to the ends of the card 1 and the frame 5 and said slits and keepers at each end vertically alining.

The lower edge of the card 2 is provided or formed with straps 8, and these straps are adapted to pass through the slits 7 at the lower edge of the frame 5, upwardly through the keepers 6 at the lower edge of the card 1, through the keepers 6 at the upper edge of the card 1, rearwardly between the cards 1 and 2 and the upper edge of said frame, forwardly through the slits 7 at the upper edge of the frame 5 and then downwardly through the keepers 6 at the upper edge of the card 1 previously passed through by the straps S. This arrangement of the straps 8 is best shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, where it will be observed that the cards 1 and 2 are firmly held within the frame 5.

Prior to placing the straps 8 in the position just described, the cards 1 and 2 are opened and the frame is placed in position whereby when the cards are folded the upper edge of the frame 5 will be embraced by the strap 3.

To look the frame 5 in engagement with the cards, a locking tab 9 is used, this tab having a slit or slot 10 formed therein. To place the locking tab 9 in engagement with the frame 5, said frame is folded as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, whereby one end of the frame will register with the opposite end. The locking tab 9 is then slipped upon the lower end of the frame and gradually moved around until it assumes a position in proximity to the strap 3. The lock ing tab 9 can then be bent downwardly over the strap 3 until it assumes the position shown in Fig. 2, at which time the folded end of the frame can be straightened out and the straps 8 placed in position as previously described.

In order to prevent the folding of the frame 5 from being noticed, especially where the card is used one or more times, the faces of the frame 5 are provided with vertical lines 11, but for one skilled in the solving of a puzzle card, it will be easy to detect whether the cards 1 and 2 have been removed from the frame 5 by an unauthorized person.

The exposed faces of the cards 1 and 2 are used for addressing, advertising or souvenir purposes, while the confronting faces of the cards 1 and 2 are used for correspondence.

In the general make-up of the puzzle card, theexposed faces of the cards 1 and 2 are printed or otherwise marked to represent a suit case, having for its handle the strap 3 and for further realistic purposes the straps 8.

At such places where the locking tab 9 and the straps 8 are bent, lines can be printed on said tab and straps, not only to indicate places where said tab and straps are bent, but to prevent the bending places from clearly showing.

While in the drawings forming a part of this application there is illustrated the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that the detail construction thereof can be varied or changed as to shape, proportion and manner of assemblage without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new, is

1. A puzzle postal card comprising two cards, a strap connecting the upper edges of said cards, one of said cards having slits formed therein to provide keepers, a frame adapted to be embraced by the aforesaid strap and adapted to surround the edges of said cards, said frame having slits formed in the upper and lower edges thereof vertically alining with the slits of said slitted card, straps carried by the other of said cards and adapted to pass through the slits of said frame and under the keepers of the slitted card, and a slitted locking tab adapted to fold downwardly over the first mentioned strap and engaging the upper edges of said cards and the under side of the upper edge of the frame.

2. A puzzle postal card comprising cards, a strap connecting the upper edges of said cards, a frame adapted to surround the edges of said cards and be embraced by said strap, straps carried by one of said cards and adapted to pass through said frame and 1 adapted to fold downwardly over said strapand the upper edges of said cards, and straps for retaining the ends of said cards in the plane of the surface of the frame.

at. A puzzle postal card, comprising cards, a strap connecting said cards, a frame adapted to surround the edges of said cards and be embraced by said strap, a locking tab adapted to fold downwardly over said strap and the upper edges of said cards, and means carried by one of said cards for holding both of the cards parallel with said frame.

5. A puzzle postal card comprising cards, a frame adapted to surround said cards, means for detachably connecting the upper edges of said cards to said frame, means for holding the ends of said cards in the plane of the surface of the frame, and means e11- gaging the upper edges of the cards and the frame for locking the cards to the frame.

'6. A puzzle postal card comprising cards, a frame adapted to surround said cards, means for detachably connecting the upper edges of said cards to said frame, means engaging one of the edges of said cards and the underside of the upper edge of the frame for locking said cards in the frame, and straps carried by one of said cards and engaging the other card and the frame for holding the ends of the cards in the plane of the surface of the frame.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

NELLIE OLINGER. l/Vitnesses:

FLORENCE JARAM, LILLIAN OLINGER. 

